I have blogger's block...sorry. There's just too much going on right now, I don't have a lot of time to think of wonderful things to write about. Today is our last moving day and we have to crunch it to get everything out of the other house to-day! Once we get this moving stuff over with, maybe something great will come to me.
In the meantime, I would be interested if anyone can suggest good names for a baby girl. I don't know what the gender of the baby is of course, and already have our boy name, but it could be another girl and I have no ideas.
Suggestions are welcome.
January 31, 2009
January 28, 2009
Freedom
I just wanted to let everyone know about the link that I have on the left hand sidebar. My husband has created a website dedicated to bring awareness to all Americans about the cost of our freedom, and what we need to do to secure that freedom. He has put lots of time and effort into it, which is still a work in progress. However he has some audio clips of a special speaker talking about the economy and how things work in easy to understand terms. He has also put some amazing videos on there too. Here is one of them, just because it's so moving and obviously, because we need to be free internally before we can have freedom externally.
And this one too, because I love it.
And this one too, because I love it.
January 27, 2009
Creating Traditions
A few years ago, I was on amazon.com looking at a book called 'Mrs. Sharp's Traditions'. I was looking on the list where individual people sell things through amazon, and I was looking one book priced between $2-4, I can't remember. For some reason, I thought that when I clicked the button 'One click shopping', that I would still have a chance to cancel it.
One click definitely means one click, because as soon as I clicked it, it was on it's way. However, God must have made me do it, because it has been such a blessing. It was a beautiful hard cover book, filled with gorgeous pictures of Victorian living and lots of inspiring ideas.
Mostly, the book is divided into the months of the year, and then she describes different activities and celebrations during the Victorian era. There are also sections about being a homemaker and running a household, which are very encouraging and uplifting.
All that to say, every year since I got the book I've wanted to make real Victorian homemade valentines. The Victorians virtually created the Valentine's Day craze that is present now, but in a much simpler setting. They made beautiful and elaborate valentine cards, not the little rinky dink ones at walmart. Not only that, but it was a time for the whole family to express love to each other, not just couples.
Mrs. Sharp's suggestions are: The week before Valentines Day, gather friends and family together to make homemade valentine cards and create special boxes with slots in the top to put the cards in for each family member. Celebrate with an afternoon tea.
The day of Valentine's, each child awakens to a homemade card under their pillow. They come to the breakfast table, all decked in red and white and are served heart shaped cinnamon toast and strawberry muffins. In each of the children's school bags is a little Valentine themed gift, like pencils or a pad of paper. In their lunches they have heart shaped sandwiches and cookies.
She also makes sure the children have enough Valentine cards for all their school mates.
When the kids come home, they have a Valentine Tea party for their dolls and stuffed animals, because they are well loved. Then in the evening, the family gathers for their Valentine dinner. Each place setting has gold foil cornucopias filled with heart candies and chocolates and after dinner they have a heart shaped cake to eat.
I don't know about you, but that sounds like a lot!!! But, they are just ideas, you can pick and choose what you want. I personally think that it's a good idea to make Valentines Day about the whole family, not just romantic couples. So, I am planning in the next week or so, to head out to a craft store and pick up some heart shaped doilies, Victorian stickers, pink and red paper etc. to make homemade cards and send them in the mail to grandparents. If I can find a box, then I will make one with a slot in the top to put extra cards in for the girls.
I am not planning on doing any of the above festivities, except a sweet dinner with the family. All I need is a lace tablecloth to lay over a pink sheet, some pink and red flowers to put into my rose patterned teapot, some small boxes of chocolates in heart shaped boxes and some extra large doilies to go under the plates, and we can have a cute Valentines dinner.
Then everyone can have a special, handmade card on their plate and that's that. Sounds fun to me, to surprise people with real, handmade Valentine Cards. Of course I'll have to figure out how to make super big envelopes to put them in!
January 26, 2009
Monday again
I took a blog break!
I just haven't been in the mood to post...or in the mood to compute in general. Plus we are still moving stuff every weekend- sick of it!!
Friday I went to my first doctor appointment and all is well. We had an ultrasound and the baby looked great- heart beating and it was wiggling its arms and legs at us. The due date is now August 17th. My doctor was easy going and nice. He also told me that we would need to have another c-section, but if for some reason I went into labor and was pretty far along, then I would probably be able to have the baby naturally. That's great- that is my answer.
So, I will tell them not to schedule the c-section until the due date. They like to schedule them early at times so you don't go into labor and you never go overdue. Then, I will do everything I possibly can to prepare my body for labor before then. Plus, I have a chiropractor friend who does acupuncture to start labor, which he did on me before, but he was new to it and I needed more than one treatment for it to work, which I didn't have time for. Now supposedly it will work within 48hrs.
So, we'll see what happens. I know that labor and birth is hard work and not necessarily easier, but recovery is what I'm thinking of. Being able to walk after birth would be nice. I don't know about you, but January seems endless to me. I am so ready to move on to spring, which is odd because I generally like the cold. I am ready to plant a spring garden and sew spring dresses.
Speaking of which, I am considering taking us back to mostly dresses again; my girls love to dress up and I love making them look adorable, so why not? I can't stand anything constricting my belly when pregnant, so all the new styles of dresses are perfect. I can buy a couple of cheap patterns and make all different styles of easy to sew dresses. I have been seriously 'craving' my sewing machine. I got tired of it after making two quilts, but it's been three months since I made anything and I have plans.
Anyways, I am feeling much better. I have more energy and am not needing to eat all day long so now I can actually accomplish stuff. Today I have bedding laundry, dh's laundry, the kitchen floor to clean, and about 6 boxes to unpack. If I can I am going to make homemade english muffins- been craving them too!
Speaking of cravings- FISH! I made an awesome clam chowder Saturday night, which I haven't made in years! A large can of whole clams was only $1.67 at walmart and I got an extra jar of clam juice, also $1 and some change. That along with some bacon, some heavy cream and milk and some potatoes and we had some good eatin'! Oh it was yummy...but I also splurged and bought shrimp for eating with cocktail sauce. I told Matt we might be eating that or a version of that every week.
Ok I'll just post the recipe:
3 slices of bacon or more if you want
1 medium onion, chopped
1 t dried thyme, or two bay leaves
1 large can of clams, if whole chop them up (yes they look gross)
1 bottle of clam juice
3 cups of milk
1 cup of heavy cream
3 cups diced russet potatoes
In a large pot cook the bacon till crisp. Remove bacon and add a pat of butter and the onions. Cook till soft, then add about 1/4 cup of flour. Cook a minute, then add the clam juice, potatoes and enough water to just cover potatoes. Cover and reduce heat; cook till potatoes are soft, then add the rest of the ingredients and season to taste. Let simmer for about 5-10 minutes to blend flavors. Serve with crust bread or oyster crackers.
I just haven't been in the mood to post...or in the mood to compute in general. Plus we are still moving stuff every weekend- sick of it!!
Friday I went to my first doctor appointment and all is well. We had an ultrasound and the baby looked great- heart beating and it was wiggling its arms and legs at us. The due date is now August 17th. My doctor was easy going and nice. He also told me that we would need to have another c-section, but if for some reason I went into labor and was pretty far along, then I would probably be able to have the baby naturally. That's great- that is my answer.
So, I will tell them not to schedule the c-section until the due date. They like to schedule them early at times so you don't go into labor and you never go overdue. Then, I will do everything I possibly can to prepare my body for labor before then. Plus, I have a chiropractor friend who does acupuncture to start labor, which he did on me before, but he was new to it and I needed more than one treatment for it to work, which I didn't have time for. Now supposedly it will work within 48hrs.
So, we'll see what happens. I know that labor and birth is hard work and not necessarily easier, but recovery is what I'm thinking of. Being able to walk after birth would be nice. I don't know about you, but January seems endless to me. I am so ready to move on to spring, which is odd because I generally like the cold. I am ready to plant a spring garden and sew spring dresses.
Speaking of which, I am considering taking us back to mostly dresses again; my girls love to dress up and I love making them look adorable, so why not? I can't stand anything constricting my belly when pregnant, so all the new styles of dresses are perfect. I can buy a couple of cheap patterns and make all different styles of easy to sew dresses. I have been seriously 'craving' my sewing machine. I got tired of it after making two quilts, but it's been three months since I made anything and I have plans.
Anyways, I am feeling much better. I have more energy and am not needing to eat all day long so now I can actually accomplish stuff. Today I have bedding laundry, dh's laundry, the kitchen floor to clean, and about 6 boxes to unpack. If I can I am going to make homemade english muffins- been craving them too!
Speaking of cravings- FISH! I made an awesome clam chowder Saturday night, which I haven't made in years! A large can of whole clams was only $1.67 at walmart and I got an extra jar of clam juice, also $1 and some change. That along with some bacon, some heavy cream and milk and some potatoes and we had some good eatin'! Oh it was yummy...but I also splurged and bought shrimp for eating with cocktail sauce. I told Matt we might be eating that or a version of that every week.
Ok I'll just post the recipe:
3 slices of bacon or more if you want
1 medium onion, chopped
1 t dried thyme, or two bay leaves
1 large can of clams, if whole chop them up (yes they look gross)
1 bottle of clam juice
3 cups of milk
1 cup of heavy cream
3 cups diced russet potatoes
In a large pot cook the bacon till crisp. Remove bacon and add a pat of butter and the onions. Cook till soft, then add about 1/4 cup of flour. Cook a minute, then add the clam juice, potatoes and enough water to just cover potatoes. Cover and reduce heat; cook till potatoes are soft, then add the rest of the ingredients and season to taste. Let simmer for about 5-10 minutes to blend flavors. Serve with crust bread or oyster crackers.
January 21, 2009
The Real Me
Oh wow, in my world of heightened nose sensitivity, I just had a wonderful experience. I have been feeling good today and I made some homemade chocolate chip cookies...er, bars. I just took them out of the oven and hovered over the pan to smell for awhile :) I also have some bread dough in the machine going. I was going to make either muffins or granola too, but I had some unexpected visitors.
Since yesterday I was a bit serious I thought I would do a funny today. A belly pic! The reason it's so funny is because- I don't have one. I look like this all the time, and will continue to until around 5-6 months into the pregnancy. You shall also get a glimpse into what I really wear lately. COMFORT is key!
(if you can't see well, you an click the pic to enlarge. I am AWFUL at taking pictures) I have a hump of leftover pregnant belly there. I can suck it in if I wish, which lately, I've just been letting it hang out. Let people think I'm 6 months along, oh well.
I have my 4th of July t-shirt on and some weird red stretchy maternity pants I got from my sister. I have some furry gray slippers on too. It is cold today, but I didn't feel up to long sleeves. No makeup, but freshly washed hair.
Since yesterday I was a bit serious I thought I would do a funny today. A belly pic! The reason it's so funny is because- I don't have one. I look like this all the time, and will continue to until around 5-6 months into the pregnancy. You shall also get a glimpse into what I really wear lately. COMFORT is key!
(if you can't see well, you an click the pic to enlarge. I am AWFUL at taking pictures) I have a hump of leftover pregnant belly there. I can suck it in if I wish, which lately, I've just been letting it hang out. Let people think I'm 6 months along, oh well.
I have my 4th of July t-shirt on and some weird red stretchy maternity pants I got from my sister. I have some furry gray slippers on too. It is cold today, but I didn't feel up to long sleeves. No makeup, but freshly washed hair.
January 20, 2009
Thoughts on Homeschool
It seems like everywhere I go online, at least in the 'genre' of blogs I like to read, almost everyone homeschools. I am so amazed at how these many mothers put forth such great effort to give their children the best education possible. Yet, the idea overwhelms me.
When I was little I wanted to teach and I continued wanting to be a teacher until I graduated. But now that I have nearing school age children, um, I don't want to. Why? I am barely able to do the basics of homekeeping right now. How on earth would I school two children, one with special needs, with a preschooler and a newborn next year? How would I do that and keep house, do laundry, cook good meals, exercise, pay attention to hubby and have free time to blog etc.?? I admit, I can be a lazy person at times, especially now. Deep down I want to be busy, but it's just not possible at this point in my life.
I just honestly do not have the desire to homeschool. Does that make me less of a Christian or a negligent mom? I know that times have changed in the last 20 years, but I went to public school until highschool. I learned a lot! I got a good education and made some great friends. I had lots of opportunities and never got mixed in with the wrong crowd. Same goes for my sister. And my husband, and his siblings and other friends. Sure, we live in the Bible Belt of America, and in small towns as well, which probably plays a big part. I wasn't sheltered away from the crude things in life, I just had sense enough to avoid it.
In my ideal setting, when my girls are all old enough to really take things seriously, yes I would like to homeschool. I want them to learn to run a household and learn lots of other skills they won't at public school. I want to mold them and teach them myself as well. I just can't envision myself doing that now, when they're so little. It would just seem like a huge chore.
However, I don't like not being very involved in Leiah's daily life. Her teacher reports to me what she is working on and how she is doing, but I never get to see her in action. I want to be invisible so I can sneak up there and observe without anyone knowing :) And it seems to be true for my children, but they do better with someone other than me. They pay attention better and try a lot harder with someone else, probably because they're with me all the time.
I think homeschooling is great and that if people want to do it they should. Children do seem more educated and more well adjusted to the reality of life. But, it's not everyone's path. Maybe it will be mine someday, but at this point we'll be doing regular school.
When I was little I wanted to teach and I continued wanting to be a teacher until I graduated. But now that I have nearing school age children, um, I don't want to. Why? I am barely able to do the basics of homekeeping right now. How on earth would I school two children, one with special needs, with a preschooler and a newborn next year? How would I do that and keep house, do laundry, cook good meals, exercise, pay attention to hubby and have free time to blog etc.?? I admit, I can be a lazy person at times, especially now. Deep down I want to be busy, but it's just not possible at this point in my life.
I just honestly do not have the desire to homeschool. Does that make me less of a Christian or a negligent mom? I know that times have changed in the last 20 years, but I went to public school until highschool. I learned a lot! I got a good education and made some great friends. I had lots of opportunities and never got mixed in with the wrong crowd. Same goes for my sister. And my husband, and his siblings and other friends. Sure, we live in the Bible Belt of America, and in small towns as well, which probably plays a big part. I wasn't sheltered away from the crude things in life, I just had sense enough to avoid it.
In my ideal setting, when my girls are all old enough to really take things seriously, yes I would like to homeschool. I want them to learn to run a household and learn lots of other skills they won't at public school. I want to mold them and teach them myself as well. I just can't envision myself doing that now, when they're so little. It would just seem like a huge chore.
However, I don't like not being very involved in Leiah's daily life. Her teacher reports to me what she is working on and how she is doing, but I never get to see her in action. I want to be invisible so I can sneak up there and observe without anyone knowing :) And it seems to be true for my children, but they do better with someone other than me. They pay attention better and try a lot harder with someone else, probably because they're with me all the time.
I think homeschooling is great and that if people want to do it they should. Children do seem more educated and more well adjusted to the reality of life. But, it's not everyone's path. Maybe it will be mine someday, but at this point we'll be doing regular school.
January 19, 2009
Still around
Sorry my posts take a long break over the weekend. We are still moving...very slowly too. It's so frustrating because my lack of energy has just ruined how I wanted this move to go. I have some good days here and there and some bad days.
My husband is the best. He has taken up the slack and helped me so much. And with a good attitude, with love. When I think he will begrudge the fact that I am sleeping later and not making his breakfast, he wakes me up with kisses. When I've been laying on the couch for an hour while he is working on something, he comes and asks me what I want for dinner.
I need some ideas on how to surprise bless him. I want to send him something to work, but flowers aren't very masculine. I would bring him lunch one day, but he doesn't have the best place to eat unless it's a nice day outside. A card doesn't seem like enough either. I would love to gift him with a trip somewhere- a man trip, LOL. Hunting or fishing or something, but I know nothing about that, and he would want me to go, so I guess I could do a romance trip. I could blow him away with a cruise, but even if I could afford it, where would the kids go for a week??
Maybe something will come to me...
Anyways, I'm not going to pretend, but this early pregnancy stuff is HARD. Thankfully I am not having morning sickness, but so much fatigue and weakness! It blows me away. And on the days I feel good, I really do a lot, but still, it's not the same as being able to go everyday. I feel like I'm doing an awful job as a wife, mom and homemaker.
I need a routine. It's hard enough without dealing with boxes all over, with more on the way. Mornings are hardest for me right now. I guess I may have to force myself up earlier so I can have more time to get it together before everyone needs me.
Anyways, I've gotten a lot done so far. I still have a sink full of dishes to wash, two boxes in the kitchen to deal with and still mountains of laundry. The bathrooms could use a cleaning too, but I majorly lack the motivation for that!
Have a nice day!
My husband is the best. He has taken up the slack and helped me so much. And with a good attitude, with love. When I think he will begrudge the fact that I am sleeping later and not making his breakfast, he wakes me up with kisses. When I've been laying on the couch for an hour while he is working on something, he comes and asks me what I want for dinner.
I need some ideas on how to surprise bless him. I want to send him something to work, but flowers aren't very masculine. I would bring him lunch one day, but he doesn't have the best place to eat unless it's a nice day outside. A card doesn't seem like enough either. I would love to gift him with a trip somewhere- a man trip, LOL. Hunting or fishing or something, but I know nothing about that, and he would want me to go, so I guess I could do a romance trip. I could blow him away with a cruise, but even if I could afford it, where would the kids go for a week??
Maybe something will come to me...
Anyways, I'm not going to pretend, but this early pregnancy stuff is HARD. Thankfully I am not having morning sickness, but so much fatigue and weakness! It blows me away. And on the days I feel good, I really do a lot, but still, it's not the same as being able to go everyday. I feel like I'm doing an awful job as a wife, mom and homemaker.
I need a routine. It's hard enough without dealing with boxes all over, with more on the way. Mornings are hardest for me right now. I guess I may have to force myself up earlier so I can have more time to get it together before everyone needs me.
Anyways, I've gotten a lot done so far. I still have a sink full of dishes to wash, two boxes in the kitchen to deal with and still mountains of laundry. The bathrooms could use a cleaning too, but I majorly lack the motivation for that!
Have a nice day!
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